Bangladesh v Pakistan

Toss: Pakistan.

At the last possible moment, a non-Test team felled a giant. Bangladesh had never even come close to beating a major power - while Pakistan were unbeaten in this competition. Since this was a completely dead match, accusations of Pakistani match-fixing grew louder again. English bookmakers had rated Pakistan 33 to 1 on, and there were no reports of unusual betting, but inevitably there were rumours about the subcontinent's illegal bookmakers. Nothing diminished the Bangladeshi fans' euphoria. It was the greatest day in their cricketing history, and perhaps no event since independence had united the country with such delight. Both captains spoke of Bangladesh earning Test cricket soon; with Pakistan unaffected, the only person with reason not to enjoy the result was Gordon Greenidge, sacked as Bangladesh coach just before this game, who quietly left at lunchtime.

Put in, the Bangladeshi openers advanced confidently to 69 in 16 overs, before Saqlain Mushtaq, the only Pakistani on song, intervened. Khaled Mahmud dashed to 27 in 34 balls. But a target of 224 hardly looked a problem - until Pakistan's top order folded. Five men were out by the 13th over, three to Mahmud. Azhar Mahmood and Wasim Akram pushed towards three figures, but it was far too late. With nine wickets down, the umpires called for a TV verdict on whether Saqlain had been run out. He was, but the jubilant Bangladeshi fans were already pouring on to the field. The County Ground had never seen anything like it - at least not since the old footballing days there, when Northampton Town knocked Arsenal out of the FA Cup in 1958. The build-up was just as frenzied: Northamptonshire could have sold three times the available tickets.